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		Bible Amplifier Series- Exodus-Hardcover Chapter 1 -God Sees Oppression - Exodus 1, 2 The first two chapters of Exodus appropriately introduce the book. First, they clearly tie Exodus to the preceding book of Genesis. The Sons of Jacob, or Israel, we meet in the first few verses are the same men who go into Egypt in the last chapters of Genesis. The God we meet is the same God who made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in earlier days. We can understand Exodus only few see it as a continuation and sequel of Genesis. Second, the first two chapters prepare the way for the message of Exodus by presenting the need for deliverance and introducing the human leader of the deliverance. The Israelites, who had started out as honored guests of Pharaoh, end up as a persecuted group of slaves who groan and cry out for help. Moses, who becomes their leader, is an example in suffering from that oppression at the very beginning of his life. The rest of Exodus contains the answer or solution to the problem of oppression outlined in these first two chapters. That solution begins even here with God hearing the Israelites? groans and remembering His earlier covenant with the patriarchs. God therefore sees the problem and is concerned (2:23-29). In well-written books like Exodus, the introduction plays a crucial role and deserves special attention. The reader who treats the beginning of Exodus lightly runs the risk of missing the full impact of the message. Listen carefully to the beginning of this powerful saga. Getting Into the Word -Exodus 1 Read Exodus 1 through two times. As you read, think about the following questions: 1. In connection with the names in Exodus 1:1-5, read Genesis 46:8-27 and 49:1-28. What kinds of people are counted and what kinds are not counted in the number 70 (Gen. 46:27 and Exod. 1:5)? Why? What are the ways these lists differ? What do you think are the reasons for the differences? When so much is said about these people in Genesis, why does Exodus repeat the names? 2. Make a list of all the statements in Exodus 1 that point to Israel's growth. What are the reasons that Exodus gives for this growth? How does this growth compare with the problems of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in Genesis (Gen. 15:2; l6:l;25:21;29:31;30:1)? What had God promised (Gen. 12:1; 13:16; 15:5; 17:2, 4; 26:4; 28:14; 35:11)? What does this growth lead to, and why is it important? 3. List the progressive steps taken by Pharaoh in the oppression of Israel. Can you find a pattern in what he does? What seems to motivate him? What works against his plan? 4. Who was this Pharaoh of the Exodus, and what was the historical situation? What does a "new king" (vs. 8) mean? Use the SDA Bible Dictionary or a similar Bible dictionary, and read the relevant parts of the article "Exodus" to gain some knowledge of the history. 5. Who do you think are the heroes and the heroines in this story? What roles does each play? What can we learn from their stories about how God uses people? 6. Does this chapter present women in a favorable light? Why do you say so? 7. Think about the midwives' response to Pharaoh. Do you think they did the right thing when they gave their reason for not killing Hebrew male babies? What does this story teach us? Exploring the Word The Israelite Population Explosion Whenever conflict or oppression arises, there must be at least two sides involved. Chapter 1 paints a portrait of the two sides confronting each other in the Exodus story. If we know the two protagonists, we can understand the conflict. The saga begins with the side of the underdog the Israelites or sons of Jacob. Israel's (Jacob's) eleven sons are specifically named as accompanying Jacob to Egypt. In Hebrew the first six words in Exodus 1:1 are the exact same six words that we find in Genesis 46:8. The Genesis passage lists the eleven sons (in a different order) as well as their sons, and in some cases, grandsons. The eleven sons have fifty-five sons and grandsons. Joseph is not mentioned because he is already in Egypt. If you count Jacob, Joseph, and his two sons, you arrive at the seventy mentioned in Exodus 1:5. Clearly, this is not the total number of Israelites who entered Egypt. By ancient Hebrew reckoning, women were not counted (Gen. 46:8-2 7). If you want to number the entire family, the total should be at least doubled. If you counted the whole party, including slaves and servants, you would have well over two hundred people. This list of names is vital. The people who are oppressed in Egypt are the very same people we met in Genesis. They reach back in an unbroken line to Abraham, with whom God originally made the covenant. All of the descendants of Jacob are there, none are missing. If you attend your child's graduation, you look at the program to make sure her name is written there. When the class will is read, you want your name to be present. In the same way, a Hebrew wanted to know that when God's people were described, his ancestors' names and his tribe's name were listed. All must be a part of the Exodus experience. The fact is, the number 70 is given to show smallness rather than largeness. Exodus 1 wants to emphasize the phenomenal growth of these descendants of Abraham and Jacob. Over and over again, the growth is referred to. The Israelites were "fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous so that the land was filled with them" (1:7). Pharaoh recognized the growth (1:9,10). Oppression didn't hinder the growth (1:12), and the midwives' kindness enabled growth to continue (1:20). The growth is important for two reasons. First, it is a direct fulfillment of the covenant promises. God?s first promise to Abraham (Gen. 12:2) is that He will make him a great and numerous nation. That promise is renewed over and over. It comes to Abraham in Genesis 13:16; 15:5; 17:2, 4; 18:18; 22:17, to Isaac in Genesis 26:4, and to Jacob in Genesis 28:14; 35:11; 46:3.Although Exodus 1 does not specifically mention God as the One behind the rapid increase, the Israelites could not help but see this as a clear fulfillment of the promises made by God to their ancestors. All this needs to be considered in light of the fertility problems of the patriarchal wives. An obstetrician who specialized infertility problems could have made a small fortune as personal physician to the patriarchs' wives! Sarah initially can't have children and then miraculously conceives at age ninety. The next generation is not much better. Isaac's wife, Rebekah, barren for twenty years, only becomes pregnant in response to prayer by Isaac (Gen. 25:19-21) and then bears twins. Jacob's beloved wife Rachel is initially barren and only conceives in answer to prayer (Gen. 29.31,30:22, 23). But in Exodus all this is over. God has blessed Abraham?s descendants with great fertility. Clearly, if God has so abundantly blessed in keeping the first part of His covenant promise, it is only a matter of time until He delivers on the second part, a land for Israel! GOD SEES OPPRESSION The Progression of Oppression The second reason why this growth is crucial is that it is a major factor leading to Israel's enslavement. We now meet the other protagonists in the story, Pharaoh, and, by extension, the Egyptian nation. Pharaoh reasons that a large Israelite community might join forces with one of Egypt's enemies. Thus, Israel is a dangerous threat to internal security. The very growth in population that is an evidence of God's blessing becomes an excuse for oppression to a fearful Pharaoh. As is often the case in suppression and oppression, what begins as straightforward enslavement becomes progressively more brutal and deadly. The first step is forced labor under slave masters. This doesn't make the Israelites decrease, so the Egyptians begin to dread them even more and thus become more cruel. Not only do they require the Israelites to build, but also to work in the fields and do all kinds of hard labor under Egyptians who, used them ruthlessly (1:14). One of the activities the Israelites are required to perform is brickmaking (1:14). The Egyptians were great builders, and their construction projects required vast numbers of bricks. The pyramids of Sesostris III at Dashur needed about 24.5 million bricks for their construction (Sarna, 23)! The brickmakers are given quotas. A leather scroll from the fifth year of Rameses II tells of a brickmaker team of forty men. Each worker was assigned to make 2,000 bricks a day, but the target was high and rarely reached. Punishment would often follow for those not reaching their quota. Such was the Israelites, lot under Pharaoh's persecution program. In addition to hard labor, Pharaoh institutes a program of infanticide. Midwives with Hebrew names are commanded to kill all baby boys. They undoubtedly faced punishment from Pharaoh if they were caught not complying with his commands. The midwives righteously decide not to follow Pharaoh's cruel orders, so, as a last step, the ruler gives all Egyptians license to kill Israelite baby boys. Jewish commentators on the passage say that Egyptians would take their own babies and wander among the houses of the Israelites. They would cause their own babies to cry, hoping that the wails would induce hidden Israelite babies to also cry and thus be discovered. The oppression has now moved from simple slavery to genocide. Never is there a reason for genocide, but, as already mentioned, from a human point of view, Pharaoh claimed to have a reason. According to some estimates, as much as a third of the population of Egypt at that time was foreign (Ramm, 8). If that many aliens in your country turned against you, it could be a threat. Nothing, however, is more likely to cause rebellion than the kind of oppression Pharaoh instigated! Who was the ruler who did all of this? Exodus 1:8 calls him "a new king." Most students of Exodus understand this to mean a new dynasty or ruling family. This ruling group did not personally know Joseph (and his family) and all he had done to save Egypt in earlier times. We are not sure of the pharaoh's name. Who he is depends on when you believe the Exodus took place. Some scholars date the Exodus in the first half of the thirteenth century B.C., between 1300 and 1250. (For details, see LaSor, Bush, Hubbard, 125-128.) This would make the pharaoh of the oppression Seti I (1305 ,1290) and the pharaoh of the Exodus Rameses 11(1290, 1224). Others date the Exodus at about 1445 B.C. The SDA Bible Dictionary has an able defense of this position (331, 332). If this date is correct, the key pharaohs in the oppression and in the Exodus would have been Thutmose III (c. 1492?1450) and Amenhotep (1490, 1425). However, our uncertainty about which pharaoh or date is involved does not change the fact of the Exodus or the value and meaning of the story. Some have argued that the pharaoh is providentially left nameless, making him an ideal symbol of all oppressive rulers who fight against God's people. Oppressors tend to operate in certain ways. The Egyptian pharaoh is not as much an isolated evil man as he is a prototype of many who have followed similar paths, from Haman to Herod to Hussein. These men are representatives of oppressive systems. One hero and two heroines stand out in this story. God is the great hero who fulfills the covenant. Although His name is not often mentioned, He brings about Israel's great multiplication. He is clearly pointed out as the One who inspires the two midwife heroines and their righteous actions and brings a subsequent blessing that gives them families of their own (1:20, 21). The two midwives (probably along with their assistants) are a prime biblical example of civil disobedience for a righteous cause. The story clearly teaches that they did the right thing in disobeying Pharaoh's murderous command. The midwives are blessed because they "fear God" (vss. 17, 21) more than they fear Pharaoh's power and punishment. This story raises other questions. The Bible clearly implies that the midwives' cover-up was a lie. Hebrew baby boys lived, not because their mothers were vigorous, but because the midwives chose to disobey Pharaoh. Does the story teach that despotic rulers are not only to be disobeyed but also lied to and deceived? Not necessarily. The blessing comes not because of deception but because of obedience to God. The blessing may even come in spite of deception. The fact that God blesses people who, in a time of crisis and dealing with tyrants, bend the truth does not mean that He condones the lying and other questionable methods used. The story is ironic because the mighty ruler of Egypt is nameless while two obscure Hebrew midwives are remembered by name. God's standard of judging importance is certainly different from the one usually used by humans. The stage is set for what follows. Both oppressor and oppressed have been introduced. We know what the problem is, Jacob's family faces genocide. What will God do next? About The Author Dr. Jon Dybdahl, chairperson of the Department of World mission at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University, holds a doctoral depress in Old Testament from Fuller Theological Seminary. Prior to his current assignment, Dr. Dybdahl served as a pastor, a professor of Old Testament at Walla Walla College, a missionary in Southeast Asia, and the director of the Seventh-day Adventist Institute of World Mission. He has authored several other books, including, Old Testament Grace and Exodus: God Creates a People in The Abundant Life Bible Amplifier Series.		Quantity: Price: 7.95

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